Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-02-10
A. CHAT ABOUT NAMES.

A CHAT ABOUT NAMES.
How the Names Of Great People are Conferred
onDiferent Objects.
London News:
With what feeling docs q man find that
his name Is on level with that of Wei
lington or ''the other great manner of
boots" as Mr.. Thackeray calls Bluch or ?
When Mr.. Gladstone became indiss olubly
associated with bags, was ne pleased, or
did he winces How dill the prime min
lister bear it when the first Salisbury des-
patch-box swan into his kens It il a
compliment, of course. Yet to see the
boxes labeled as thu Savernake cigarette
must be an almost embarrassing kind of
popularity. The empress of the French
gave her title to q peculiar way of dress
ing the feminine locks, and the prince
consort's Christian name added luster
to watch chain. Her majesty as been
sponsor to a colony Gf not to moro than
one), to mighty big lake in Central
Africa, and to convenient light open
Carriage. This brief list by no means
exhausted the category of these
honors, and it is probable that in
many parts of this empire where the sun
publicity shines not, there arc Victoria
creeks, lakes, hills and rivers. Explorers
of new territory, especially of the desir-
able freehold residential sites near Franz
Joseph's land, used up all sorts of names
for their patches of eternal snow. Some
select their friends surnames, as the
London builder losses his Binas and
Almas about the streets and gardens.
Franz Joseph himself has attained geo.
graphical Immortality in the highest
ATTITUDES, though it appears that the
Americans have bestowed tho presiden-
tial title on some hummocks of paleocry-
tic desolation in regions yet more hyper
borean. Stars are capital things to attach
name to, and George our own immortal
George Q, in the Georgium Sidus, may en-
dare as long as the solar system. The
stars names, indeed, are brief history
of human progress. First there was the
age, already referred to, when wild beasts
were the lords and masters of earth, and
the most fulsome compliments were paid
to crabs. scorpions and bulls The great
bear, which Mr.. Tenniel draws so imagin-
atively, owes his title to that remote per-
led. He is found, still as the bear, in the
North American Indian nomenclature.
Then he dropped into the vain in Greece,
Charles vain with us, whoever Charles
may have been. Then fair queens. like
Bernice, transferred their names, with
their golden locks, to the consultations,
and we hear of the Julium Sidus, for
Cesar had his star like Napoleon and Mr..
Browning. Then mere constitutional
kings and astronomers gave their names
to stars, and shone in the heavens with
Jupiter, and Venus and Saturn. Finally,
science, with all the pleasant uncon-
scious poetry" which she shares with Gov
inses, in 'Bleak House," took to calling
small stars by the names of letters in the
Greek alphabet. It is like the change
from old names of rooms in hostelries,
such as Dame Quickly's dolphin" to
No. &c." or whatever it may be, in
Amoug objects named after heroes,
ships have naturally been the most nota
BILE. Yet our classical taste keeps up
saucy Arethusas and Bollerophons, and
other memories of Lemprisre. The most
classical of name-givers was the
Worthy general who shook troys, Corinths
Romes and M egaras, like pepper out of
pepper-box, all over the towns of New
York state. The old Indian names, the
Did English names, were thus superseded |
oy perfectly ridiculous appellations. 1t
vas the last and funniest effort of that |
French republican spirit which changed |
old Raoul and Alphonsa, and Henri for
Timolon, and lite Live and Junius Bru-
Jus. Other curiOs1ties of names are the
names given by NJ en- to their inventions.
The unlucky GuillOtin was making him
self unconsciously infamous, while Mac
adam has acquired more genial, and Ito
a conservative sentiment) a more useful
Gainsborough did not in
vent his big broad hat for ladies-indeed, |
Rouget de Lisle, The author of the "Mar-
says that it was invented by |
The graces. But Gainsborouge painted |
it so often that he has become its modern |
sponsor. Mr.. Renshaw lives perennial in |
> racquet, Vandyke in a kind of trim
nings of ladies' dresses, Macintosh in q
coat which is intended to keep out the
vet, but perhaps hardly succeeds in the
Mackintosh's own humid country. By
:on's collars seem very likely to outlast
Ms poetry at the present rate of critical
quotations; and Shakespeare too has
given his name to comfortable kind of
collar, which may be defined as the Glad
stone inverted. OF verbs, we have ito
burke" from the Irish operator, "boycott"
rom the same green isle, and bowdleaise
rom the sainted Bowdler. In this age |
IF pure literature, when Sir Thomas
Jrquhart's ''Rabslais" is not to be bought |
3owdler should have a monument in |
Paternoster-r